1978 Bentley T2

This majestic T2 has had just three previous owners and was delivered new to a partner in a London law firm in 1978.

The car had, and still has, the following specification, as evidenced in the document section.

‘Scots Pine’ green exterior paint with gold fine lines; beige hide upholstery; light ‘Fawn’ Ambla headlining; ‘Cumberland Stone’ carpets; and a top roll, instrument board roll, under-dash trim and radio surround in green hide.

The car’s mileage today is 197,635, which is ample testimony to the diligent care, repair and maintenance lavished upon the car during the course of its long life.

Much of the car’s contemporary condition and quality reflects the fact that nearly £14,000 was spent on it through the highly respected classic restorer Alan Carrington in 2012/13, at which time the odometer was showing 193,729 miles.

The work at that time included removing, refurbishing and reinstalling all interior wood and leather, and replacing all and any rotten metal in the sills and wheel arches.

This and other work has stood the test of time well, and particularly on the inside, which belies the car’s age and mileage throughout.

Some of the 2012/13 remedial work on the exterior needs some more attention today.

So, in short, the car is mechanically sorted, runs and drives, is a delight on the inside, and just needs a few largely cosmetic issues addressing on the outside.
 

To your author’s eye there’s something rather classier, a little more understated and perhaps less ostentatious about a T2 when viewed next to its Silver Shadow stablemate.

Which is odd, because they’re virtually identical cars.

We think the Bentley’s Flying ‘B’ mascot and rounded, subtle grille make a bigger aesthetic difference than might seem plausible, and largely because they’re not quite so grand and shouty as the Rolls-Royce bed-stead grille and Spirit of Ecstasy mascot.  

Other opinions may, of course, differ.

Either way, this stately hand-built machine looks very good in the main, and the bodywork is free of any dinks, dents or creases of consequence that we can see anywhere.

The shut-lines and panel gaps are crisp, consistent and even.

Shod with matching Goodyear Eagle rubber, which looks to have a decent amount of life in it, the wheels are in fine fettle and would appear to have steered clear (literally) of kerbs and other roadside hazards.

There are, however, some patches of corrosion to contend with.

There is some bubbling and flaking around the offside wheel arches, in the offside sill, on the offside front valance and, most notably, at the base of the o/s/r wing where it wraps around beneath the bumper.

There’s also some bubbling and blistering to be found in the nearside wheel arches, but to a lesser extent.

Beyond that, there’s plenty of micro-blistering on the bonnet; some paint chips on the leading edge of the bonnet; a little micro-blistering atop the o/s/f wing; and some cracked paint at the base of the offside ‘A’ pillar.

For the most part, the ‘Scots Pine’ paintwork has held up pretty well, too, and there’s a good deal of shine and lustre left in the finish.

The chrome-work has resisted any unwise temptations to embrace foxing, pitting or tarnishing.

Beyond anything described above, the car has a number and distribution of stone chips and light scratches that would be more commensurate with a car half its age and with much lower mileage in evidence.
 

Very few manufacturers come close to matching the classy, elegant interiors offered by Bentley at their best, and pretty much everything in the gentlemen’s club-like interior of this car is in very good order. 

The work done by Alan Carrington in 2012/13 has undoubtedly extended the life of the interior by many years and ensured that it still looks bright and only very lightly worn.

The beige leather seats are good, front and back, and aside from a couple of cracks and creases, largely due to being Connolised (but not splits or tears) to the outer shoulder of the driver’s seat backrest and some sinking of the squab, there’s really nothing to give away the car’s age or mileage.

The headlining and door cards are fine, as are the carpets and lambs wool over-rugs, the latter being of sufficient thickness to convince your ankles that your feet have been stolen.

Had they not been refurbished and restored just over a decade ago, there’s every chance that the wood veneers would have cracked and shed their lacquer by now.

Instead, they have a rich and glossy finish that wouldn’t look out of place on a Sheraton table.

All controls, dials, gauges, switches, knobs, levers and buttons look to be in very decent condition and, as far as we’re aware, everything does what it’s supposed to do.

The exceptions are the rear windows and the passenger window, which are currently not responding to our open/close commands. 

Now, it might be that there’s some cunning, child-proof deactivation switch in deployment. 

If so, we don’t know what or where it is - or how to disable it.

 

The engine bay is pretty much filled with Rolls-Royce’s tried and trusted, virtually bomb-proof, 6.75-litre V8 engine.

Everything looks clean, dry, present, correct and in its right and proper place.

The car’s undersides have some spots of corrosion here and there, but they’ve given us no real reason to frown or tut and everything we can see looks pretty sound, solid and possessed of a good amount of structural integrity.

The car had a new battery fitted in December 2024 and had the automatic transmission’s kick-down function repaired by Cadley Classic Cars of Marlborough in March 2024. In January 2024, Cadley carried out a service and some remedial work to, among other things, the car’s brake lines, exhaust system, and indicators and hazard lights.
 

This car comes with more history than the Parthenon.

We’ve told you about the 2012/13 work carried out by Alan Carrington. There are plenty of invoices from Silver Lady Services circa 2003 onwards; and all manner of Flying Spares invoices. It also had a lot of work carried out in 2009, namely:

•    both rear height control units leaking brake fluid - removed, overhauled and refitted
•    two metal brake pipes renewed; remainder cleaned and painted
•    reservoir tank cleaned and refilled with new fluid
•    dipstick O-ring replaced, oil and filter renewed
•    steering rack replaced with reconditioned unit
•    rear callipers freed and lubricated
•    window motor (n/s/f) removed, repaired and reinstalled
•    missing tailpipe chroming clip replaced
•    OSR wheel arch cut out and replaced
•    rear wing repaired and painted into doors
•    new clips and brackets fabricated and fitted.

Other remedial work was carried out by marque specialists Herne Motors in 2014, and Shadow Motorcars of Sittingbourne in 2016.

The car comes with its original manuals and guides, a stamped-up service book, all manner of photographs, letters, bills, and invoices, a V5C and an MoT certificate - with no advisories whatsoever - that’s valid until 23.7.26. 
 

As we have observed before, it’s really only in the UK that cars with mileages north of 100,000 are treated with such a high degree of largely misplaced mistrust.

Certainly, our friends in Europe or the USA, where continental scale means people have to drive further to get anywhere, don’t regard mileages like this with the same irrational suspicion as we do in the UK.

In any case, this particular car is a Bentley. We know that if you look after them, service them promptly and give them the care and attention they deserve, Bentleys have the engineering DNA to go on, and on, and on.

Yes, it needs a few largely cosmetic jobs attending to on the bodywork.

But we think that such a relatively small investment of time and money should repay the car’s next owner with many more years of pedigree British motoring pleasure. 

We are happy to offer this car for auction with an estimate in the range of £12,000 - £16,000.

Viewing is strongly encouraged, and this lot is located at Bonhams|Cars Online HQ. Viewings are STRICTLY BY APPOINTMENT and we are open weekdays between 10am - 12pm or 2pm - 4pm. To make a booking, please use the ‘Enquire About This Vehicle’ button on the listing. Feel free to ask any questions, or try our ‘Frequently Asked Questions’.